When the five-year-old was rescued, he was in a bad condition and had injury marks all over his body. He was taken to the hospital immediately and is now out of danger.

Mother scrubs 5-year-old son with stone to make him look fair [Representational Image]Creative Commons

The obsession with fair complexion is nothing new in India. Advertisements promoting fairness products, and their growing demand make this obvious. However, in a shocking incident, an Indian mother stooped to a new level to make her son look fair.

She reportedly scrubbed the body of her five-year-old boy with a black stone hoping it would change his complexion, but ended up injuring him badly.

Though people commonly use pumice stones for exfoliation, this was nothing like it. The woman reportedly scrubbed the little boy so hard that she left him injured and scarred.

The accused is Sudha Tiwari — a government school teacher. Tiwari reportedly adopted the kid from the Matruchhaya adoption center in Uttrakhand almost two years ago. Tiwari's husband is a contractual employee at a private hospital.

According to the Times of India, the incident was reported to the Nishatpura police Madhya Pradesh by Shobna Sharma — the daughter of the woman's elder sister. Following the police report, the child was rescued by the Child Line and the local police Sunday.

Archana Sahay, Child Line director, said: "The child was taken to hospital for treatment. He is now out of danger."

Sharma called the police because she couldn't bear the child being subjected to torture by Tiwari.

She told the publication: "I tried to stop Sudha several times, but when she did not stop harassing and torturing the kid, I had no other option except seeking help from Child Line and police."

Sharma added: "From the day child was brought to Bhopal, my aunt was unhappy with the boy's complexion and she started treating him with various things. A year ago, after someone suggested her a treatment through a stone, she started scrubbing the child's body with black stone. This left the kid badly bruised with scars and injuries on his wrist, shoulder, back, and legs."

The child was quoted by the publication as saying: "My mother used to take me to the school where she teaches. I don't go to school for studies."